Duckworth & Yu Emails

Rita Moreno <rita.moreno@lacity.org>

Re: Melrose BID

4 messages

Donald Duckworth <duckworth.donald@gmail.com> Sat, Jun 9, 2018 at 8:26 PM

To: Laura Aflalo <lauraaflalo@gmail.com>

Cc: Fanny Levin <fanny@fischproperties.com>

Bcc: rita.moreno@lacity.org

Good Evening Laura...

Thank you for attending our Melrose BID Board meeting on Friday. I believe that everyone benefited from our frank
discussion and we look forward to continuing the dialogue. The Melrose BID is absolutely committed to being the best it can
be and that will require broad team work and open input. Here are the answers to your questions from May 30. Again, we
apologize for the delay but it seemed that Board input about my proposed answers to your questions was important here,
which takes time.

1) Is the BID posting public notice for annual election of board members? If so, where is it posted?

MBIA has discussed plans to recruit additional property owners’ to join the Board or a committee assignment beginning with
the Annual Meeting in December 2018. In the past, a new Board Member has been added but there has not been a great
deal of additional interest expressed by anyone recently. The Board will publicly notice this recruitment effort by sending a
letter to each property ownership and advertising in its newsletter. Personal outreach (by telephone, email, etc.) will also be
used. We will email you a copy of the notice as well.

2) Bylaws state that action can be taken without a meeting. This is a violation of the Brown Act.

We would read the Brown Act, and we believe that the BID’S City supervisors would also read it, to over-ride the Bylaws
insofar as all BID business is concerned. In any case, the Melrose Business Improvement Association has never taken an
action outside of a formal meeting and always intends to follow the Brown Act. If you can provide a particular reference to
the Bylaws section you are referring to, we can clear up any misunderstanding with an appropriate amendment. Thank you
for your careful reading of the Bylaws.

3) The bylaws state that no notice is required for regular and annual meetings. The Bylaws as written violate the
Brown Act.

Again we would read the Brown Act, and we believe that the BID’S City supervisors would also read it, to over-ride the
Bylaws insofar as all BID business is concerned. In any case, the Melrose Business Improvement Association has never
held a regular or an annual meeting without Brown Act compliant notice. MBIA always intends to follow the Brown Act. If
you can provide a particular reference to the Bylaws section you are referring to, we can clear up any misunderstanding with
an appropriate amendment. Thank you for your careful reading of the Bylaws.

4) It's not a good practice to have Board Members who are related.

Thank you for your comments. We understand the potential for abuse that you allude to. We also understand that the
Melrose BID'S two related Board Members have worked together and tirelessly for the revitalization of Melrose over many
years and no practical or actual conflict has ever occurred. No MBIA action has ever been decided by the votes of related
Board Members.

5) Property owners who are in the BID should be given a business email address for all Board Members.

All property owners have been provided with the Executive Director’s contact information (telephone and email). He is
charged with day-to-day administration of the organization and keeping Board Members appropriately informed. The Board
is composed of part-time volunteers and depends upon the Executive Director for on-going, effective communication, which
has been established. By doing so, the Board has avoided the potential for ex parte communications dysfunctions outside
off Brown Act covered meetings and streamlined the flow of BID business.

6) Lastly, I am requesting contact info for all BID members.

To date the Board Members have asked that all MBIA communications be conducted through me. Each Board Member will
be advised of your request and provided with a copy of your email should any of them desire a change of this practice.

On Wed, May 30, 2018 at 4:58 PM, Laura Aflalo <lauraaflalo@gmail.com> wrote:

Attn: Deny Weintraub, Silvia Weintraub, Julian Chicha, Pierson Blaetz, Isack Fadlon, Daniel Farasat & Fred Rosenthal
( Please forward to the Board Members, I do not have their contact info )

1) Is the BID posting public notice for annual election of board members? If so, where is it posted?

2) Bylaws state that action can be taken without a meeting. This is a violation of the Brown Act.

3) The bylaws state that no notice is required for regular and annual meetings. The Bylaws as written violate the Brown
Act.

4) It's not a good practice to have Board Members who are related.

5) Property owners who are in the BID should be given a business email address for all Board Members.

6) Lastly, I am requesting contact info for all BID members.

thank you
Laura Aflalo

Donald Duckworth <duckworth.donald@gmail.com> Sat, Jun 9, 2018 at 8:32 PM

To: Laura Aflalo <lauraaflalo@gmail.com>

Cc: Fanny Levin <fanny@fischproperties.com>

Bcc: rita.moreno@lacity.org

Oops, I forgot to add that, per your suggestion in Q5, the Board asked that BID business email addresses will be
established at MelroseAveLA.com.

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Donald Duckworth <duckworth.donald@gmail.com> Sat, Jun 9, 2018 at 8:48 PM

To: Richard Jebejian <richardjent@yahoo.com>, Anat Escher <AnatEscher@yahoo.com>

Cc: Joan Pelico <Joan.Pelico@lacity.org>, Paul Koretz <paul.koretz@lacity.org>

Bcc: rita.moreno@lacity.org

Good Evening Richard and Anat...

Since you were apart of our productive discussion at Friday's Melrose BID Board meeting about these questions, we are
forwarding the written answers to you as well. We believe that personal interaction and discussion such as we had Friday
is much more conducive to our work together than email / internet back and forth. Let's continue that dialogue.

There is an additional set of questions / answers that we discussed Friday that will follow this set. Also, I'll be out of town
next week and unable to respond to any email.

Thank you for participating with us to make the Melrose BID better.

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